Thursday, June 23, 2005
Harvested my cherries today -- Star Stella and Bing varieties. Not a lot of cherries though, since the trees are pretty small, but at least now the Bing trees are producing -- I'd been worrying that they never would, since they are several years old. They are a dwarf variety that is supposedly self-fertile, according to Miller Nurseries, but I planted the Star Stella fairly nearby, just in case, since normally Bing cherries need a pollinator. The Star Stella is definitely self-fruitful though, since it has given me cherries for several years now. (This is the first year the Bing trees produced anything except lots of flowers.)
I think my pears are taking a rest this year -- there was a LOT of blossom drop, due no doubt to the earlier dankness of this spring, and I don't see ANY fruit on either of the pear trees. It's possible it's still too small for me to notice, but I have a feeling I won't be biting into any juicy, home-grown organic Bosc or Kieffer pears this year . . . (The Rouge d'Anjou is still WAY too young to produce fruit -- it hasn't even blossomed yet . . . )
Flowers currently in bloom -- orange daylilies, a few white peonies and red roses and looooooots of white hydrangeas.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
I recently bought some very cool solar lights -- they have a color-changing LED that cycles from blue to red to green and back to blue. I got them at a discount store -- I wish I could get more, but I bought all they had, after visiting several locations. There are 2 types -- one has a clear crackle-ball and the other a clear dragonfly. It took a few days for them to build up their initial charge in full sunlight, but now that they are fully charged, they can recharge even in partial sun, unlike most other solar lights.
I also have a few new floating solar lights I picked up from the same store -- 2 blue & 1 clear. For now they, like the other lights, are adorning the Garden of the Gods on the north side of my house, by the little patio I created there. I really enjoy watching the statues of Pomona and Vertumnus being illuminated in a constantly-changing wash of color.
Today I also bought a few more strings of mirrors plus beads to hang around the Garden of the Gods. These ones were a set in the 4 elemental colors of yellow, red, blue and green, so I hung them near the appropriate pentacle candle holder. I also bought a string of colored glass and beads that was in all the shades of the rainbow and hung that near the entrance to the Garden of the Gods. Best of all, these decorations were all half-price!!
Flowers currently in bloom -- white and pink peonies, red and deep pink roses and white hydrangeas.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Expanded the little patio underneath the pear trees by lugging more slates there and fiddling with the positions of the stones somewhat. It had seemed a wee bit small before with all the furniture added -- I'd added a swivel rocker to the collection about a week and a half ago, along with some matching side tables and folding chairs for when folks come by to visit -- but it's more roomy now. Some of the furniture, like the folding chairs, is out only on an as-needed basis, so that helps too.
I also spent part of the day hanging various things from the branches of the trees there. I'd already put out some hanging tealight holders that are shaped like fireflies a while back, as well as a metal sign in the shape of a beehive (with bumblebee!) that says "Blessed Bee Our Hive" and some hanging bead and mirror strings. Today I added 4 pentacle-shaped candleholders in yellow, clear, pink and blue and hung them in the corresponding elemental area -- North got the white one, for ice, since no green star-shaped holder was available, but otherwise the color correspondences are (fairly) traditional. (Pink is a shade of red, after all . . . )
After admiring my handiwork, I took some time off to enjoy the rather warm and humid day from the comfort of my folding hammock and dozed underneath the canopy of pear leaves, covered in a living purr-y blanket of kitties.
